Jul 11, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Junior Fernandez (44) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Sign Former Cardinals Pitcher

Originally posted on Arizona Diamondbacks on SI
By Alex D'Agostino | Last updated Nov 22, 2025 10:00 AM ET

According to his transaction log page, the Arizona Diamondbacks have signed right-hander and former St. Louis Cardinals reliever Junior Fernández to a minor league deal.

Fernández, 28, has not pitched in the major leagues since 2022, and spent his 2025 season with the Royals and Mets Triple-A teams. He'll head to Reno to join the Aces for Arizona.

Arizona Diamondbacks Sign Junior Fernández

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Fernandez was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Cardinals all the way back in 2014.

He would not make his MLB debut for another five years, but then spent parts of four up-and-down major league seasons with St. Louis before he was designated for assignment in September of 2022.

Fernandez was then claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates, for whom he only threw 3.1 innings in the latter end of that season.

He's been the definition of a journeyman since, spending time in numerous organizations. But he hasn't seen the field at the MLB level since that 2022 season.

For his major league career, Fernandez owns a 5.17 ERA and 5.57 FIP over only 54 major league innings.

Fernandez throws quite hard, and has a legitimate ability to punch out batters and collect whiffs at a high rate. His combo of sinker-four-seam fastball tops out around 99 MPH and sits around 97-98.

The stuff is truly electric, even three years after his last major league appearance. He's thrown to a career 3.98 ERA in the minor leagues, and struck out an astounding 53 batters over 38.1 innings with the Omaha Storm Chasers (the Kansas City Royals' Triple-A affiliate) in 2025.

The biggest issue for the right-handed flamethrower has been throwing strikes. He allowed 35 free passes over his 54 major league innings, and issued 27 bases on balls in the minors in 2025.

Such is often the profile of a hard thrower with good overall movement. The D-backs have generally avoided those types of arms in the past, but appear to be moving in a direction that emphasizes velocity and stuff in their development process.

Perhaps that outlook now extends to external additions.

Regardless, Fernandez may be a candidate to see some major league time this season, depending on how he looks in Triple-A. Arizona's bullpen is in dire need of legitimate, MLB-caliber additions, but as 2025 exemplified, it takes a lot of pitching depth to get through a full season.

Fernandez's pure stuff may allow him to see a few MLB innings, though the command is certainly a downside.